Enhanced visible-light photocatalytic degradation of ciprofloxacin hydrochloride by bulk iodine doped BiOCl with rich oxygen vacancy

Bulk iodine doped BiOCl were prepared through a convenient molten salt method. Bulk iodine doping process not only introduced iodine atoms but also created rich oxygen vacancy in crystal structure of the bulk iodine doped BiOCl. The as-prepared bulk iodine doped BiOCl exhibited higher visible-light absorbtion range and photocatalytic activity than the pristine BiOCl. When utilized as photocatalyst in ciprofloxacin hydrochloride photodegradation, the optimized bulk iodine doped BiOCl (BiOCl1-3xI3x) demonstrated the superior rate constant, which was 12 times greater than that of the pristine BiOCl. In addition, photoelectrochemistry testing also indicated that BiOCl1-3xI3x possessed enhanced carriers separation and suppressed carriers recombination, which ultimately leaded to the high ciprofloxacin hydrochloride photocatalytic degradation activity.